


put your glad rags on (and join the fun)

by teacupfulofbrains



Series: pattonella!au [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, M/M, basically it's just virgil using magic to create his and pat's outfits for the ball, his name is dorian in this au, i'm finally crossposting this after god knows how long, mentions of villainous!deceit, pattonella!au, this is a oneshot that takes place during the first chapter of the pattonella!au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2020-07-11 20:23:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19933960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teacupfulofbrains/pseuds/teacupfulofbrains
Summary: after dorian storms out, virgil makes up his mind – he and patton are going to that ball, fancy suits be damned. what’s magic for if you won’t ever use it, right?(OR: a one-shot set in the pattonella!au wherein virgil makes fancy outfits for himself and patton)





	put your glad rags on (and join the fun)

**Author's Note:**

> i'm finally getting around to crossposting the pattonella!au on ao3 and thought this little one-shot i wrote also belonged here!! 
> 
> cw: mentions of unsympathetic!deceit (dorian), crying, mild angst/anxiety

Virgil flinches when the door slams. Loud noises have never meant anything good, especially where Dorian is concerned. He waits about five minutes, just to be safe, just to be absolutely one-hundred-percent sure that Dorian isn’t going to come back in the door. He runs his fingers absently along the jagged seam of his ruined cuff and bites back a scream. 

Patton had spent _weeks_ doing far more than his fair share of work just to try and repay the tailor for fixing these suits. He had been ecstatic when he showed Virgil the suits, and even Virgil hadn’t been able to muster something cynical in response. Despite being severely behind the times in terms of fashion (something Virgil has never been particularly fond of, anyway) the suits were still elegant and beautiful and the nicest thing Virgil had put on in years. 

It had taken weeks for Patton to get these suits, and only minutes for Dorian to destroy them. 

Virgil pushes himself to his feet and smacks his hands against his cheeks. He doesn’t have time to wallow in self-pity and hatred tonight. This ball is the only chance he and Patton might get to escape Sanders Manor without running away, and Patton won’t abandon the house that once belonged to his beloved father. They’re going, Dorian be damned. 

Patton is nowhere to be found inside, but Virgil doesn’t waste his time looking. The house is enormous, but he knows Patton’s favorite haunt. He makes only one detour, brief, to the library, and then he’s heading to the gardens with an old, thick book hugged against his chest. 

He finds Patton crumpled in a ball beneath the largest tree in the garden, surrounded by fallen, wilting golden flowers. Patton’s face is buried in his arms, and his entire body is shaking with heart-wrenching sobs. Virgil carefully touches his shoulder and he springs up, scrubbing hastily at his face and taking a deep, shuddering, steadying breath. 

“H-hey, there, kiddo!” he says, and Virgil pretends not to notice the tremor in his voice. Patton’s eyes are bright red and puffy, and there are still tear tracks on his face, still tears in his eyes. “It sucks we can’t go, but I – I guess it’s for the best, huh? S-servants like us shouldn’t m-mingle with the upper class, a-am I right?” 

Virgil visibly winces, hearing Dorian’s rhetoric parroted back by a heartbroken Patton. “Pat, Dorian’s been feeding you bullshit for years and you know it. You’re the _biological child_ of the last lord of the manor! You’re the rightful Lord Sanders!” 

“Dad named Dorian heir in the will,” Patton sniffles. 

“We’ve never seen that document,” Virgil coaxes. “Dorian could be lying! I wouldn’t put it past him, you know.” Patton doesn’t answer, just wipes his eyes with a piece of the ruined suit, and Virgil remembers why he’s here in the first place. “Listen, Patton, you want to go to this party, right?” 

“More than anything in the world.” 

“Ok, so stand up and stop crying. You wouldn’t want to meet the princes with your face all red like that, would you?” 

Patton looks up at him. “What – what are you talking about, Virgil?” His voice is cautiously optimistic, and there’s the faintest glimmer of hope in his eyes. “There’s no way we can go, not – not like this, and there’s nothing else we can wear, and –”

“You’re forgetting something, Patton.” Virgil holds out a hand and pulls Patton to his feet. Then he snaps his fingers, and purple sparks dance across his hand. “I have magic. We’re going to that ball, and there’s nothing Dorian can do about it.” 

Patton gasps and hugs Virgil. He stiffens at the sudden physical contact, but he reacts in enough time to wrap his free arm carefully around Patton. “Virgil, you’re amazing!” Patton shouts, voice muffled by Virgil’s shoulder. “You’re the absolute best, seriously, Virge, I can’t believe I forgot about that!” 

“Yeah, yeah, c’mon, Pat, this is gonna take some doing.” Patton pulls away, grinning sheepishly. “Go inside and wash your face, and then meet me in the foyer, okay?” He nods feverishly and sprints inside. Virgil takes a deep breath and then heads into the house. He’s never tried something this complex, and he’s afraid that he won’t have the stamina or he’ll mess it up. 

_Of course you will, Virgil, because that’s all your magic is good for_ , Dorian whispers in his mind’s ear, and Virgil shakes his head back and forth to clear it. He’s going to do this for Patton, because Patton’s the only person who’s ever been nice to him in his life. He deserves to be happy tonight. He deserves to have this evening. 

When Patton comes into the foyer, his face is scrubbed clean, and he looks bouncy and happy again. “Okay, Virgil, what’s the game plan?” 

Virgil props the book up on a bench and opens it to a bookmarked page. “Okay, Patton, I’m gonna need you to stand really still and be really quiet, okay? This is a really tricky spell to get right, so I have to concentrate.” Patton puts his hands behind his back, bouncing ever-so-slightly on the balls of his feet, as Virgil closes his eyes. 

He calls to mind the suit Patton had been wearing, but then he remembers Dorian’s suit, and realizes that he has a _chance_ here. He can make the illusion whatever he wants it to be – he can make Patton’s suit as beautiful and elaborate as he wants. He has reasonable limits, of course; the more complex the illusion, the more difficult it’ll be to sustain. But he can improvise and adapt, make subtle alterations to make the suit more fashionable. It’s the least he can do for Patton, who showed him kindness even when he was being an absolute dick as a child. 

Virgil visualizes the suit in his head and begins to chant. He can hear Patton breath in sharply with surprise. He can’t blame him; Virgil prefers nonverbal magic, it’s what he’s best at. He doesn’t know that he’s ever verbalized a spell in front of Patton. Virgil opens his eyes in time to see bright blue light snake up from the ground and wrap around Patton’s legs. 

“Whoa, what – I – what the –” 

The magic winds up around Patton’s waist, across his chest, down his arms to the tips of his fingers, around his neck and up around his head. He’s completely encased in sparkling blue light, lifted slightly off the ground by the power of Virgil’s spell as he holds the image in his mind. Patton’s form glows slightly brighter, and then the light dims as he gently touches back down. 

Patton looks down at his new suit, and his eyes are _glowing_ . The pants and jacket are a beautiful, light sky blue that brings out Patton’s eyes, with a white shirt, a grey vest, and a silvery-blue tie. There are a few small silver accents on the rest of the suit, and when Patton twirls around trying to look at the entirety of it, the material shimmers and sparkles. “Oh, _Virgil_ , it’s so _lovely_!” 

Virgil smiles, because Patton loves the suit and he’s done something good, he’s done something _right_ , and he’s proud of himself. “The best part is that there’s also a glamour on your face. You don’t have to worry about Dorian seeing you, because he won’t recognize you at all.” 

Patton sweeps Virgil into a hug and staggers in a circle, clinging to him and laughing. “Virgil, it’s so great! It’s so beautiful, it’s so much better than I could have ever imagined! I can’t wait to see yours!” Virgil doesn’t answer, because he can feel the strain of his magic and he knows that he won’t be able to hold the spell the whole night if he casts it on both of them. He stays silent, unable to tell Patton that he isn’t going anymore. 

Patton sets him down when he doesn’t respond, does his best to make eye contact with Virgil (who is steadfastly staring at the floor). “Virgil, you are going tonight, right?” 

“The spell’s really taxing,” Virgil admits, lifting his gaze to meet Patton’s horrified eyes. “If I cast it on both of us, it won’t last the whole night. I’d much rather you go have fun all night than both of us have to leave early.” He goes to pick up the book, resigning himself to another night of looking for proof of Dorian’s tomfuckery, but Patton stops him. 

“Virgil, I’m not going to that ball without you.” 

“Patton, you’ve been waiting for this for weeks! I don’t even really want to go, and I can’t force you to leave early because –”

“Virgil, you put up with just as much as I do!” Patton interrupts. “You deserve this just as much as I do! I don’t care if I have to go home early, it’s not the party I really care about! I care about getting to have fun with you! You’re my little brother, Virgil, I want you to enjoy yourself too!” Virgil presses his hand to his mouth and bites his lip to keep the tears in. He does want to go, of course he does, but Patton deserves this more than he does. 

Patton’s eyes soften, and he gently places a hand on Virgil’s shoulder. “Virge, if you really don’t want to go, then I’ll go by myself. But if you really want to go to the party, then I don’t care if we have to leave early as long as you’re there having fun.”

Virgil hesitates for a split-second before throwing his arms around Patton’s neck, doing his best not to cry on Patton’s shoulder. Patton hugs him back, and then Virgil is pulling away and chanting again. The light that swirls around him is purple as opposed to Patton’s blue, and his suit is far less elaborate than Patton’s. His pants and jacket are midnight purple, with a black shirt, a dark grey vest, and a silver tie. There are a few silver accents, but his suit is far less flashy than Patton’s overall. Virgil doesn’t care either way, because this is the fanciest thing he’s ever worn. 

Patton claps his hands together and squeals. “Virgil, you’re so _handsome_! I love that suit, it’s so you, you look so _wonderful_!” 

Virgil rubs the back of his neck to try and diffuse some of the awkward energy he feels. “Yeah, yeah, thanks, Pat.” He can feel the tenuous strain of magic in him, like a clenched fist burning in his chest, and it must show on his face because suddenly Patton’s glee is replaced with concern.

“Are you okay?” Patton asks. “Are you alright? Is it too much for you?” 

“Yeah,” Virgil manages. “I don’t think I can hold this for very long though. What time is it?” 

Before Patton can answer, the clock in the hall chimes – eight o’clock sharp. Virgil does a very quick bit of math in his head, thinking back to the limits he knows he has and trying to figure out how much time he can give Patton. 

“Midnight, Pat. We’ve got until midnight – that’s the latest I can hold this spell.” 

Patton grins, face glowing like a thousand suns. “That’s more than enough time, Virgil. You’ve given me so much more than I could have ever hoped for.” Virgil rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling as he grabs Patton’s wrist and pulls him out the door towards the distant, glowing castle. 

**Author's Note:**

> come scream at me on tumblr!! // [@teacupfulofstarshine](https://teacupfulofstarshine.tumblr.com)


End file.
